Sam Hoyle

I’m a Multimedia Producer for WHO-TV. I’m the resident British chap with a dodgy accent. I post stories on our website and keep our social media profiles updated. Get in contact if you have a story for our community pages.

I went to university in Edinburgh, Scotland and London, England. I joined WHO in November, 2012 after a year teaching in South Korea, Jindo Style!

Recent Articles

DES MOINES, Iowa — Democratic get out the vote efforts kicked off with a rally headlined by President Clinton in downtown Des Moines Saturday. Simon Estes, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, musician James Taylor and the 42nd president of the United States came to the stage to support the election efforts of Staci Appel, who is running for Congress, and Rep. Bruce Braley, who is up against Joni Ernst in a tightly fought race for Tom Harkin’s Senate seat.

AMES, Iowa – As he watched the birth of his second child on his iPad, a National Guard Sergeant was given permission to travel half way around the world to surprise his wife in Ames. Just 22 hours before landing in Des Moines, Sgt. John Vorrath was deployed with his unit in the Middle East. Without clearance to leave, he was able to be there with his wife, Janae, in the delivery room via Facetime as she brought little Charlotte […]

ARNOLDS PARK, Iowa – A northwest Iowa restaurateur’s fight with the Internal Revenue Service is gaining national attention. In August of 2013, the owner of Mrs. Lady’s Mexican restaurant in Arnolds Park, Carole Hinders, had about $33,000 seized from her checking account by the IRS despite not committing a crime. The reason? She had been depositing less than $10,000 at a time. “How can this happen?” Hinders told the New York Times. “Who takes your money before they prove that […]

MUSCATINE, Iowa — An eastern Iowa fugitive called 911 for help after a pack of coyotes chased him just days after escaping police custody. Daniel Rice, 21, was getting transferred from Muscatine County Jail on Monday to a local hospital for treatment when he managed to slip out his handcuffs and flee wearing just his hospital gown, the Muscatine Journal reports. On Wednesday, officers in Illinois received a call of two men being chased by a pack of wild coyotes […]

DES MOINES, Iowa – It’s one of the most competitive races in the country and a poll out Thursday morning shows it’s going to go to the wire. The latest Quinnipiac Poll shows Congressman Bruce Braley and State Senator Joni Ernst are neck and neck in the race to become Iowa’s next US senator. Ernst has a two point lead with 48 to 46 percent. Four percent say they are still undecided. “The race to succeed U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin […]

LAMONI, Iowa – Graceland University in Lamoni was placed on lockdown Tuesday morning following a report a person with a gun on campus. Officials sent the lockdown notice to students and staff at about 11:30 a.m. using the school’s alert system. “There was a report of an individual with a gun on campus,” the university tweeted. “It is unknown if there was a threat initiated with the weapon, but we are taking the situation seriously for the safety of our students […]

DES MOINES, Iowa – The race to fill retiring Sen. Tom Harkin’s seat is too close to call, a Quinnipiac University poll released Monday shows. “The Iowa Senate race, which could be key to control of the U.S. Senate, is too close to call and likely will remain close all the way to Election Day,” said Peter Brown, the poll’s director said. A survey of likely Iowa voters shows 47 percent for Republican Joni Ersnt and 45 percent for Democrat […]

A terminally ill 29-year-old woman has chosen November 1 as the day she will die. Shortly after her wedding last year, Brittany Maynard began experiencing debilitating headaches. While on vacation with her husband in January, Brittany was diagnosed with grade II Astrocytoma, a severe brain tumor. Doctors told Maynard she had 10 years to live. “I have to tell you,” she says in the video, “when you’re 29 years old, being told you have that kind of timeline still feels like being […]

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Doughnut forget to pull over or slow down for emergency vehicles is the message from West Des Moines police. The department published a public service video titled “Video of an officer nearly being struck by another vehicle! You must watch this!” to Facebook Wednesday. The post has received hundreds of ‘likes’ and ‘shares’ but not for the reasons you’d expect. Officials say no doughnuts were harmed in the making of the video, “because they’re way […]

KENNER, Louisiana — Two high school English teachers in Kenner, Louisiana are facing felony charges for an alleged sexual relationship with a student WGNO reports. Police say that Shelley Dufresne, 32, and Rachel Respess, 24, met with a student from their school after a football game, and the three went back to Respress’ home to engage in sex acts. Authorities say that the student is a Junior and is now 17-years-old, but was 16 when the alleged relationships began. Former […]

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa – The West Des Moines Police Department will follow up with authorities in Arkansas in the wake of the murder of a realtor in the Little Rock area. Arkansas realtor Beverly Carter who was found in a shallow grave Tuesday morning. A suspect in that murder has been arrested. It’s a case that resonates in central Iowa. In April of 2011, Ashley Okland was shot twice and killed while working inside a West Des Moines model […]

Harvest 2014 is fully in motion, and in one of the last weeks in September, central Iowa farmer Roger Van Ersvelde was beginning the month-long task of getting his soybeans and corn out of his fields, after a cool, wet season delayed crop maturity. He says, “We’re just getting started on the beans, so we’re kind of just sticking our nose in there and getting a feel for what the yield’s going to be, what the moisture’s going to be, […]